An independent study by the Carmel Group, a consultancy company that researches the media marketplace, projects that revenue generated by digital video recorder (DVR) sales will triple in 2010. The study forecasts that sales of DVRs, related software and services will amount to some $1.3 billion, three times the ’05 total of $375 million. In line with this, household penetration will steadily increase. DVR users will grow to 41 million households in the U.S.–that’s 37 percent of American TV households–by ’08. Looking further ahead to ’10, the projected total is 56 million or 49 percent of U.S. households. At the end of ’05, according to the study, there were 16 million DVR users, a tally that translates to 14 percent of U.S. TV households. Among the companies that will show the greatest increase in DVR sales are: Scientific-Atlantic, the number two U.S. maker of TV set-top boxes; Motorola, the world’s second largest mobile phone maker; and EchoStar, the number two U.S. satellite TV provider. DVR usage carries potentially profound implications for the advertising industry as the technology has the capability to skip right past commercials. However, on the other hand, ad-friendly initiatives are starting to be instituted by companies like TiVO, generally acknowledged as the pioneer of DVRs.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More